44 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,

46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Facts:

verse 44

1.	What is the kingdom of heaven like?

a.	Treasure hidden in a field

2.	Where is the treasure?

a.	In a field

3.	(Opt.) What is a field made of ?

a.	Dirt. Good, this may be important later.

4.	Where in a field is it?

a.	Hidden in a field

5.	(Opt.) Whose field is it?

a.	Doesn't say, but it's not the man's field 'cause he's about to purchase it.

6.	Summarizing then, we have treasure, hidden perhaps buried in dirt, in a field that is not the man's.

7.	List all the actions taken by the man.

a.	He found the treasure hidden in a field

b.	He hid it again

c.	From joy over it he goes away and sells all that he has

d.	And he buys that field

8.	Let's look at this purchase. What did he actually purchase?

a.	The field

9.	Is anyone hearing this?

a.	What did he find? Treasure.

b.	What did he buy? Field. (Isn't it interesting that he wanted the treasure badly enough to buy the entire field, even the part that wasn't treasure, in order to get the treasure portion.)

10.	What did it cost him to purchase the field and the treasure?

a.	Everything he had

11.	And how did he feel about spending all he had on this field?

a.	He did it because of joy over the treasure

12.	Why did the treasure remain hidden until it was found by the man?

a.	Treasure cannot find itself

i.	Why not? It's dead

b.	No one else saw it.

i.	Why not? It didn't look like treasure, or they couldn't see the treasure for all the dirt

Interpretation:

1.	Who is this man? Respond from scripture.

a.	Take into account all the actions of the man:

i.	Found treasure, hid it, from joy sold all, buys field

ii.	When were we hidden? In Garden

iii.	Where in Garden? In the trees

iv.	How else were we hidden? Behind fig-leaves

v.	Who found us? Jesus

vi.	How did he hide us again? Under skins of the sacrifice.

vii.	(Deal w/ only if raised: Why did he re-hide the treasure after finding it?)

(1)	He wanted it to be there still when he purchased the field.

(2)	Perhaps he didn't want anyone else to find it and take it or for anyone to tell the owner. (It doesn't say that he didn't tell the owner of the field about it. If you found oil on someone's property and wanted to buy it, according to the law they probably have the right to know what the mineral content of their property is before they sell, so maybe the high cost is because the owner does know what's on his property.)

2.	What does this tell us about the field and the treasure?

a.	Remember he bought the whole field, just to get the treasure . . . what does this mean?

i.	Make sure to hit His death for the ungodly

b.	How valuable is this treasure to Him?

i.	Worth more than everything he has.

c.	What's significant about the fact that He wants us so badly even though we're in the dirt?

i.	He considers us a treasure even when we don't look so valuable, even when we don't feel valuable.

1.	Read the next parable and find the three major differences between it and the parable of the treasure.

a.	Kingdom is like a merchant,	instead of man

b.	seeking fine pearls	instead of found

c.	When he found one	instead of unspecified amount

2.	What's significant about each difference: a., b., c.?

a.	He's a merchant, this is what He does for a living.

b.	He's actively seeking pearls! We won't make too much of this, but the other doesn't say he was looking, just that he found and hid.

c.	He sold all for just one!

3.	Who is that one?

a.	I'll know you're hearing the message if you answer rightly. Anyone else hearing. Who is that one?

b.	(Evangelize each other–which is more difficult, saying or hearing, believing?)